Console Corner: Overwatch review

There are around 330 words in this column and I still don’t know if that is enough to justify just how good Overwatch is.

Seeing as I’ve already wasted 24 of them I’d better get on with it.

Last week I said Uncharted 4 already had the 2016 Game of the Year sewn up.

Well that is certainly no longer a one-horse race given how brilliant Blizzard’s new team-based first-person shooter is.

You have a cast of various heroes, each with their own abilities and roles within a team, at your fingertips.

Each one is so exquisitely different they could have an entire game built around them alone.

Squad-based combat is the name of the game with four general character roles including offensive characters with high speed and attack but low defence, defensive characters meant to form choke points for enemies, support characters who are there to help their allies and enemies respectively (such as healing or speed alterations), and tank characters that have a large amount of armor and hit points to withstand enemy attacks and draw fire away from teammates.

Overwatch is actually quite cutesy and colourful in terms of its quirky graphics but don’t be fooled, this is a seriously good shooter.

Players can switch between characters in-game following deaths or by returning to their home base, which is encouraged by the game’s overall design. The maps are inspired by real-world locations and have the look and feel of an experienced developer like Blizzard behind them.

When I first played Overwatch it was late, I was tired and I should have been in bed.

Four hours later in the small hours of the morning I still didn’t want to put the control pad down. Every match you find or learn something new, there are just so many layers to this fantastic shooter.

Take my word for it, this is the new front runner for Game of the Year... and if you don’t want to take my word for it just look around at the widespread overwhelming critical acclaim that has greeted its release.